FEATURE /
RESIDENTS' GRIPES ABOTU UTOWN RESIDENTIAL COLLEGES ZEN SOO |
21.10.2011
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Hair clogged up the drainage and the dustbin in the toilet was overflowing for the third time in two weeks. A pungent odour lingered in the air, stubbornly refusing to dissipate. Christina Ng sighed deeply. Perhaps it was finally time to sign the petition to increase the cleaning frequency for the suite toilets in Tembusu College.
“It’s getting really bad,” Ng , a fourth-year computing student who shares a suite with five others, said. “The bin is constantly overflowing after three to four days, and there are no sanitary bins for females in the suite toilets.”
“Clogged drains are actually really common as well, and the cubicle tends to flood when the drains clog,” she added.
The University Town which opened in August currently comprises of the Tembusu College, the Cinnamon College and the Graduate Residences. Open to all new and existing undergraduates in the National University of Singapore, the Tembusu and Cinnamon Colleges each admits up to 600 students.
Ninety two suite residents have already signed the petition, almost one third of the total number of suite residents staying in the Tembusu College. The online petition created by Chew Xin Ying, a fourth-year law student in NUS, has been circulating within the Tembusu College community. The petition encouraged residents who face similar concerns living in these suites to sign the petition.
The petition stated that the suite toilets were only cleaned once a week, while the corridor toilets were cleaned daily. Considering how six to 12 people share a corridor toilet and how six people share a suite toilet, the frequency of cleaning for the suite toilets were not proportionate to the number of people sharing it.
A common reason stated by residents in the petition was that they were paying more to live in suites, where six residents share a toilet and a common area, but were instead receiving lesser “treatment” since the suite toilet is not cleaned as often as the common toilets, often resulting in a smelly and unhygienic environment. Suite residents typically pay 10 dollars more a week as compared to corridor residents.
Toilets, however, were not the only issue that residents have problems with. Febrin Low, a fourth-year geography student said, “There is a lack of Wi-Fi in University Town, which makes it difficult to use the Internet on the go. While there are LAN ports provided in the rooms for residents to use, it restricts the places where we can study or complete our work.”
In some cases, the Local Area Network ports were faulty. Rachel Ng, a third-year student living in the Tembusu College, has had problems with the LAN port in her room that are yet to be resolved. In order to use the Internet, she has to move to the common areas where a Wi-Fi signal is present.
“It is a huge inconvenience for me,” she said. “I cannot possibly do all my work in a common area – that would defeat the purpose of living on campus, actually.”
More serious problems include occasional electrical surges that have affected several floors in the colleges, resulting in damaged electronics and the like. Ng Li Ann, a second-year NUS student, said, “The electrical surge ruined several of my electronic chargers as well as my lamp. The damages totalled to about $500, which is not a small amount.”
“Thankfully, I will be able to claim insurance for these. I hope that the UTown management clears up the problem soon, as it is quite serious,” Ng said.
Responding to the electrical surge issue in an email sent out to all residents, deputy director of the Cinnamon residential college Kang Hway Chuan stated that the management is urgently pursuing the matter by working with the Office of Housing as well as the electrical contractors to find a solution.
Addressing the toilet hygiene issues, Kang also stated that the management will work with the cleaning contractor to “ensure that a cleaning schedule is set up and clearly displayed inside the toilet so that residents can help assess the effectiveness and the regularity of the cleaning”. Kang mentioned that suite toilets are “problematic” as the cleaners are reluctant to go into the suites when all the residents are out, and that the management was still in the midst of finding a solution.
“I hope that these inconveniences that come with living in UTown are resolved soon,” Ng, the second-year student, said. “The concept of incorporating residential living and learning is a good idea, but it is difficult to mesh the two when these issues, such as Internet or surges, affect our basic lifestyles.”
“It’s getting really bad,” Ng , a fourth-year computing student who shares a suite with five others, said. “The bin is constantly overflowing after three to four days, and there are no sanitary bins for females in the suite toilets.”
“Clogged drains are actually really common as well, and the cubicle tends to flood when the drains clog,” she added.
The University Town which opened in August currently comprises of the Tembusu College, the Cinnamon College and the Graduate Residences. Open to all new and existing undergraduates in the National University of Singapore, the Tembusu and Cinnamon Colleges each admits up to 600 students.
Ninety two suite residents have already signed the petition, almost one third of the total number of suite residents staying in the Tembusu College. The online petition created by Chew Xin Ying, a fourth-year law student in NUS, has been circulating within the Tembusu College community. The petition encouraged residents who face similar concerns living in these suites to sign the petition.
The petition stated that the suite toilets were only cleaned once a week, while the corridor toilets were cleaned daily. Considering how six to 12 people share a corridor toilet and how six people share a suite toilet, the frequency of cleaning for the suite toilets were not proportionate to the number of people sharing it.
A common reason stated by residents in the petition was that they were paying more to live in suites, where six residents share a toilet and a common area, but were instead receiving lesser “treatment” since the suite toilet is not cleaned as often as the common toilets, often resulting in a smelly and unhygienic environment. Suite residents typically pay 10 dollars more a week as compared to corridor residents.
Toilets, however, were not the only issue that residents have problems with. Febrin Low, a fourth-year geography student said, “There is a lack of Wi-Fi in University Town, which makes it difficult to use the Internet on the go. While there are LAN ports provided in the rooms for residents to use, it restricts the places where we can study or complete our work.”
In some cases, the Local Area Network ports were faulty. Rachel Ng, a third-year student living in the Tembusu College, has had problems with the LAN port in her room that are yet to be resolved. In order to use the Internet, she has to move to the common areas where a Wi-Fi signal is present.
“It is a huge inconvenience for me,” she said. “I cannot possibly do all my work in a common area – that would defeat the purpose of living on campus, actually.”
More serious problems include occasional electrical surges that have affected several floors in the colleges, resulting in damaged electronics and the like. Ng Li Ann, a second-year NUS student, said, “The electrical surge ruined several of my electronic chargers as well as my lamp. The damages totalled to about $500, which is not a small amount.”
“Thankfully, I will be able to claim insurance for these. I hope that the UTown management clears up the problem soon, as it is quite serious,” Ng said.
Responding to the electrical surge issue in an email sent out to all residents, deputy director of the Cinnamon residential college Kang Hway Chuan stated that the management is urgently pursuing the matter by working with the Office of Housing as well as the electrical contractors to find a solution.
Addressing the toilet hygiene issues, Kang also stated that the management will work with the cleaning contractor to “ensure that a cleaning schedule is set up and clearly displayed inside the toilet so that residents can help assess the effectiveness and the regularity of the cleaning”. Kang mentioned that suite toilets are “problematic” as the cleaners are reluctant to go into the suites when all the residents are out, and that the management was still in the midst of finding a solution.
“I hope that these inconveniences that come with living in UTown are resolved soon,” Ng, the second-year student, said. “The concept of incorporating residential living and learning is a good idea, but it is difficult to mesh the two when these issues, such as Internet or surges, affect our basic lifestyles.”